First written in 1926 and republished in 1953, Microbe Hunters tells the stories
of the heroes of microbiology. In this well-researched and eminently readable historical
narrative, Paul De Kruif describes the personalities, eccentricities, and life stories of
Leeuwenhoek, Pasteur, Koch, Metchnikoff, Bruce, Reed, and Erlich, among others. The reader
becomes acquainted with the Dutchman, Antony Leeuwenhoek, whose fanatical persistence in
grinding even better lenses and in turning them on everyday subjects led him to the first
visualization of microbes, with the Frenchman, Louis Pasteur, whose unceasing showmanship
and publicity led him to demonstrate to the world the potential of vaccination, and with
the German, Robert Koch, whose persistent experimenting and logical reasoning led to the
theory that one microbe causes one disease and to the isolation of anthrax and
tuberculosis bacilli.

Writing in the genre of historical novels, De Kruif takes some license in suggesting
dialogue between the principal characters and their colleagues, assistants, spouses, and
each other. But this technique diminishes neither the credibility of his story nor the
effectiveness of his account. By dramatizing these scientists' lives and discoveries, De
Kruif succeeds in reminding us that all current medical knowledge is the fruit of
individual researchers' lifelong labors, imagination, and investigation. Microbe
Hunters is remarkable for conveying the palpable excitement in scientific advances
that existed when the book was first published in 1926. Such excitement is not surprising,
considering that at that time Pasteur's rabies vaccine was not yet 50 years old and Paul
Erlich's compound 606, the magic bullet for syphilis, had been discovered only 17 years
earlier.

...Microbe Hunters provides an inspiring window to the wonderment and reverence
of an earlier age, when discoveries were still rare, cures still miraculous, and hope for
the future eradication of disease brimming. Immensely entertaining, this book provides a
welcome antidote for any student over-whelmed by the mass of information, the myriad
microbes, and the diverse array of lab tests, stains, and differential culture media that
are expected to be learned and mastered. Though it may be hard to find in the corner
bookstore, Microbe Hunters is worth tracking down in your medical school library,
for a quick, refreshing, and inspiring read.